Director of Sales

Sales Manager – Pet Nutrition

NaturPak is a leading co-manufacturer specializing in wet pet food, pet treats, and human-grade pet nutrition solutions. We partner with emerging and established pet brands to bring differentiated products from concept through commercialization at scale.

We are seeking a Sales Manager – Pet Nutrition to own revenue generation within our pet co-manufacturing platform. This role is responsible for prospecting, closing, onboarding, and expanding pet nutrition customers while consistently delivering against annual sales and strategic growth targets.

This is a senior individual contributor role, accountable for building and executing a disciplined sales plan, managing a defined pipeline, and converting opportunities into long-term manufacturing partnerships. The role works cross-functionally with R&D, Operations, QA, Finance, and Supply Chain to ensure successful commercialization and profitable growth.

This is a field-based role requiring up to 50% travel, including industry trade shows and key customer engagements.

Key Responsibilities:

Revenue & Sales Execution

• Own and deliver annual sales targets aligned with NaturPak's pet nutrition growth strategy.
• Develop and execute an annual sales plan and budget, including revenue forecasts, pipeline targets, and customer prioritization.
• Drive new logo acquisition through proactive outbound prospecting, industry networking, and targeted account development.
• Manage the full sales cycle, from lead generation and qualification through contract negotiation, onboarding, and commercialization.
• Consistently build, manage, and convert a healthy sales pipeline that supports near- and long-term capacity utilization.

Customer Onboarding & Growth

• Lead the onboarding of new pet nutrition customers, coordinating internally to ensure smooth handoff from sales to R&D, QA, and Operations.
• Guide customers through formulation development, trials, scale-up, and first commercial production runs.
• Expand existing customer relationships through additional SKUs, formats, and volume commitments.
• Act as the primary commercial owner of customer relationships, ensuring expectations, timelines, and economics are clearly aligned.

Co-Manufacturing & Strategic Selling

• Sell NaturPak's co-manufacturing capabilities, including formulation expertise, processing, quality systems, and scalable capacity.
• Partner with Operations and Supply Chain to align customer demand with production planning and capital investment decisions.
• Structure deals that balance customer needs with long-term profitability, utilization, and strategic fit.
• Secure volume commitments that support efficient capacity utilization and future growth investments.

Planning, Forecasting & Reporting

• Build and manage accurate sales forecasts, budgets, and pipeline reporting.
• Maintain disciplined CRM usage with clear visibility into opportunities, timelines, and probabilities.
• Provide regular updates on sales performance, pipeline health, and risks to plan.

Market Intelligence & Strategy

• Provide actionable insights on pet nutrition trends, customer needs, competitive dynamics, and pricing structures.
• Contribute to strategic planning by identifying white space opportunities, emerging formats, and potential platform expansions.
• Represent NaturPak at industry events, trade shows, and customer meetings as a credible commercial leader in pet nutrition manufacturing.

Expectations for Success:

• Consistently meet or exceed annual sales and strategic growth objectives.
• Build a repeatable, disciplined approach to prospecting, closing, and onboarding customers.
• Operate with urgency, accountability, and strong commercial judgment.
• Establish NaturPak as a preferred co-manufacturing partner in the pet nutrition space.

Qualifications:

• Experience: Minimum 10 years of direct sales in the pet industry with a track record of delivering strong, profitable growth.
• Industry Knowledge: Proven expertise in pet food manufacturing, particularly with national brands and private label retailers.
• Skills: Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills; Proficient in Microsoft Office and CRM systems; Financial and business acumen.
• Attributes:
  • Self-starter with a positive attitude and drive for results.
  • Skilled at building deep, trusted relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
  • Creative problem-solver with strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
  • Passionate about premium wet pet food & treat solutions.

Why Join NaturPak

• Opportunity to build the operating engine behind a high-growth, private equity-backed food and ingredient platform
• Direct partnership with an entrepreneurial VP of Sales & CEO
• Company with a collaborative culture that drives for success and brings others along